“The thing he’s shown me the most is that he’s been here with a positive attitude. ... Up until the beginning of the season, he’s had three years above A ball, and everybody had all these expectations of him – which, we do as well — but you gotta understand, there’s going to be a right time for him to go there.

“And when he does, there’s no doubt in my mind that Bruce Rondon is going to be a really good big-league closer.”

Now is as good a time as any.

Rondon comes into a closer committee situation where he’ll likely share chances with veteran set-up man Joaquin Benoit, who had gravitated toward the closer role in the first 18 games of the Tigers’ season.

Eventually, though, you’d have to assume it will be Rondon’s job, whenever he’s ready to handle it full time.

“He has the mentality. There’s a lot of the new-age computer people who think you can mix and match late in the game. I think that’s absolutely asinine. Those are three special outs in a baseball game,” Nevin said.

“Maybe it’s because I played with one of the best closers of all time in Trevor Hoffman, and played in Mariano’s era (Mariano Rivera) — but those are three special outs. It takes a special person to get them. I know when Trevor was down, we tried a bunch of other people, and it just doesn’t work. We had a bunch of different guys who could pitch the eighth, but when you pitch the ninth, it’s just different.

“Bruce wants the ninth, he’s good in the ninth. That’s half the battle.”

He’s also got the ability to manage his emotions, a trait vital for a closer, who has to have a short memory when things don’t go well.

“Absolutely. That happens with anything in life, especially in this game. When we have to do it with these guys, 144 times a year. Then 162-plus games up there (in MLB), yeah, it’s so hot and cold, it’s every single day. The best players are the ones that manage their emotions the best on a daily basis, and the closer job is — I mean, you come in the next day, worrying about the day before, that’s the worst job to do that with,” Nevin said. “Hitters, it happens, but you get five more chances the next day. You might get one, or you might not get one for another three days. If you dwell on that’s going to be a problem. Bruce does not do that. He comes every day with the same attitude.

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Email him at matt.mowery@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @matthewbmowery.